Finding Fires
by mimininikiki
Summary: "I have to find them… No matter what." A girl from a unique past tries to find something, but a mysterious group keeps getting in her way. Who is she? What is she looking for? And why does this group want her head?
1. Another Lead

The clouds were dark, threatening rain though none fell.

A man stood on top of a cliff under these clouds, woods about fifty feet behind him.

The man's features cannot be made out, for a hood shadowed his face.

As wind began to pick up, the man heard footsteps approaching.

A girl appeared from between the trees. She was grabbed in the usual attire of a trainer, and her entire outfit was light orange and red, except for part of her shirt and belt buckle, which were white, and her fingerless gloves, which were two shades of gray. Her hair was as dark as the blackest of night, and seemed to absorb light, and it reached to her ankles. A hat was perched on her head, and red earrings dangled from her ears. Her eyes were a darker orange than her clothes. Behind her, an Ariados followed, prepared to leap to its trainer's aid.

The girl paused facing the man. No sound was made.

The man chuckled. "So, you came."

"Do you think I wouldn't have followed up on this?" The girl responded. "I'm not stupid."

"No. None in your family are. But sadly," the man turned to face the girl, and the wind removed his hood. "The boss isn't here."

The girl sighed, placing a hand on her hip. "I figured. This is the tenth time I've been given a clue with a false reward."

The man smirked. "This however, will be the last time you will receive such a clue, for these," The man drew a sword from under his cloak "Are your last few minutes."

The Ariados was about to advance towards the man, but the orange eyed girl glanced towards the poison type, halting him. She looked back at the man and smirked. "Funny, the last nine men said the same thing."

She extended her right arm, and a light began to glow in her palm. The light began to change shape, until it took the form of a sword, and became solid as the girl closed her fingers around it.

Light began to spread from her hand, up her arm, transforming the girl's clothes as it went.

When the light finished spreading, the black haired girl was no longer wearing normal trainer clothes. Instead, she was wearing clothes fit for battle, and her hair was tied back in a braid.

"However," The girl pointed her sword at the man. "It turned out to be their last moments."

And with that, the battle started. Blow for blow, slash for slash, both appeared to be evenly matched.

Appeared.

The man slashed at the girl. However, instead of parrying or blocking, the girl dodged to the side, and rammed her elbow into his chest. He stumbled backwards, off balance.

And fell from the cliff.

The man flailed up with his non sword arm, grabbing the edge of the cliff. But before he could begin to pull himself up, the girl stepped on his hand, preventing him from falling.

"Tell me what you know." The girl demanded, pressing the tip of her blade against the man's throat.

"Forget it." He growled.

The girl applied more weight to the man's hand, causing him to bite back a cry of pain.

"Tell me what you know, and I'll let you live."

The man winced. Dropping his sword, he reached in his cloak, and pulled out a piece of paper folded into quarters.

"Here," He said, handing the paper to the girl. "This is all the information they gave me. I was told to destroy it, but I was worried I'd forget something…"

The black haired girl wasn't listening. She was reading what was written on the paper.

After a minute, the girl nodded. "This'll do."

"So?" The man asked. "Are you going to help be up or what?"

The black haired girl eyed the man, not changing expression, and beginning to refold the paper. She removed her foot from the man's hand.

"No."

And with that the girl kicked the man's hand, releasing his grip on the edge. She turned and walked away, the man's screams coming to an abrupt stop behind her.

_"That was rather cold, my lady." _The Ariados remarked as she approach the arachnid.

"Being cold is often necessary, Maxwell." The girl responded, her body glowing slightly and transforming back to her old outfit, and her sword turning back into light.

"Let's go. This just gave me another lead." The girl stated as she began to walk back the way they came.

As they walked, the girl reached into her pocket, pulling out a rather large heart shaped locket.

Clicking it open, the locket revealed a picture of a man, a woman, and a child no older than five.

_I'll find you two,_ the girl thought, clicking the locket closed and putting it away.

_I swear it._


	2. A Threat to the Plans

The room was dark, with only a few sources of light in the whole room, which was bare except for a wooden desk and a swiveling leather chair, which was facing away from the desk.

A young man entered nervously, looking around. "S-sir?" The man said to the apparently empty room. "I have some news-"

"Let me guess," The chair turned, facing the young man. "The girl wasn't killed, and instead exterminated another one."

It wasn't a question, but the young man nodded.

"Figures," The man grumbled, turning his chair so that only half of him was visible.

The man was wearing a black suit. Black shirt, black pants, black jacket, every piece of clothing was black. His skin was a dark tan, and his hair was a messy, sandy blond. His face was rugged, yet clean shaven, and one, single scar was at the edge of his mouth, about an inch long and slanting down towards the center of his face, and his eyes were an icy blue.

"Sir? I-I have the synopses of what happened here." The young man asked, finally working up the courage and holding up a file in his hand.

"Leave it on my desk, and tell them to monitor her. I need more time to think up another plan." The man said, not looking at the boy.

"Y-yes sir." The young man agreed, quickly walking forward, placing the file on the desk, and then exiting as quickly as possible.

The man didn't move, and continued to stare at the wall.

Just then a sultry female voice chuckled. "You can be so intimidating at times."

The man didn't turn, and his face remained neutral.

"I see you let yourself in here without permission again."

"Of course. It's much more interesting." The owner of the voice said, appearing from the shadows behind the man and walking around to face him.

The woman was dressed in an off-black pencil skirt with an off-black short sleeved button up shirt that wasn't buttoned anywhere near all the way up that revealed quite a bit. A pair of black high heels were on her feet, and her hair was a curly brown, and reached to just below her shoulder blades. Her lips and finger nails were both blood red.

"Let's take a look at this, shall we?" The woman cooed, picking up the file and sitting on the edge of the desk, placing her feet on the man's lap.

"Hm… The man was standing at the designated area, near a cliff, the girl showed up, changed to her battle outfit, they fought, she knocked him off the cliff, he held on, she interrogated him, promised to let him live, he gave her information, and then she knocked him off the cliff." The woman smirked. "Almost sounds like what I would do. Almost."

"Why are you here Cathrine? You're supposed to be scouting information in Sinnoh."

"Oh, you're always so serious. If you must know, I found something I thought might be interesting to you, so I had Damien take over for a while."

"Damien?" The man questioned, still not changing expression.

"You know, that little Shuppet I had with me last time. He's gotten very good at illusions." The brunette almost purred.

"And what's this information you thought I'd find interesting?" The man asked.

"Right to the point as always." Cathrine smirked. She reached into her blouse and pulled out a folded piece of paper, handing it to the man. "Tell me what you think of this."

The man opened and read the information on the paper. He quickly looked back up at the woman.

"Have you confirmed this?" The man asked, his voice a bit more intense.

"Not quite, we're working on it."

"Let me know as soon as you do." The man said. "If this is true…"

"Of course." The woman stood up, blowing the man a kiss, then walking back behind the man. The man didn't bother trying to watch her go. He knew it was pointless, as she was going to vanish.

The man remained sitting, staring at the wall in complete silence.

_If we don't end that girl soon, she could seriously get in my way…_


	3. Helping a Person in Need

_"My lady? Why are we here again?"_ Maxwell the Ariados asked.

"The last lead I got lead us here, Maxwell." The orange eyed girl responded.

_"The middle of Viridian forest?"_ The poison type questioned.

"Actually, Kanto in general." The orange eyed girl responded.

_"Then why are we _here_? In the middle of a forest that there is barely anything in?"_

The girl didn't respond, instead searching in a bush.

_"Don't tell me… Another one of your 'intuitions'?"_

The girl still didn't respond.

_"My lady, you know you can't rely on those yet, your future sensing abilities do not run in your family, and the last time you followed it, we ended up-"_

"I _know_, Maxwell. You don't need to remind me." The girl interrupted. "It just… I don't know, this one feels different."

_"Different h-"_

"Alright kid hand over your money, or your Pokemon gets it!"

Both the girl and the Pokemon jumped into the trees. Both of them looked in the direction the voice had come from.

"Come on kid! I said hand it over!" The voice shouted again, followed by the sound of someone getting punched.

_"My lady, we should go, this doesn't involve us."_

The girl wasn't listening, she was already silently hopping from tree branch to tree branch closer to the sound.

_"Oh for the love of-"_ Maxwell muttered, hopping after the girl.

The girl stopped, watching the scene below her. A man was holding back a boy, no older than seventeen, and another man was holding a Xatu. The Xatu and the boy both looked beat up.

_"My lady, let's just go, before they-"_

Once again, the Poison type was ignored. The orange eyed girl jumped down, side kicking the man holding the boy, knocking him away.

The Ariados sighed, before jumping down and firing stingers at the other man.

The girl continued to kick and the Ariados continued to fire until both men took off running.

The girl huffed. "They act so tough when they're fighting someone who isn't fighting back."

"Hey," The black haired girl turned to look at the boy. "You alright?"

"Uh, yeah," The boy replied, "Thanks."

"No trouble." She responded, offering a hand to help him up, which he gratefully took.

The boy was wearing a green jacket with a blue shirt underneath, green capris, blue and green shoes, and a backwards cap. His hair was a light brown, and his eyes were a medium dark blue.

The boy took off his back pack, rummaging through it, before pulling out a couple Potions and hurrying over to the Xatu, beginning heal him.

"Here buddy, this'll heal you up." The boy said, spraying a potion on the Xatu's wings.

"Xaaaaaaaaaaa…" The Xatu cried, grateful for the relief.

"Your Xatu ok?" The girl asked.

"Yeah, he should be fine in a couple minutes." The boy replied.

"Good to hear. Well, I think we'd better be going." And with that the girl turned to walk away.

"H-hey, wait!" The boy said, standing up.

The girl turned back. "Yes?"

"Well, you see…" The boy hesitated, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm on a journey to try to figure out what I want to do with my life, but, well, neither Xatu nor I really know how to fight, so… I was wondering if we could stick with you? At least for a while, and you seem perfectly capable of fighting."

The girl hesitated. _It'd put him in danger if I brought him along. But I can't just leave him out here, his_

_Pokemon is hurt. And travelling with him would be a better cover… And I can always split up with him to_

_investigate leads…_

Maxwell stared at the girl as she thought._ No, please, don't-_

"Well, at least for a while, I guess." The black haired girl responded.

The boy grinned. "Thanks. By the way, I'm Tony. Tony Mathias." He held out his hand.

The girl looked at him for a second before taking his hand.

"Claire Fiether."

_As far as you will know…_


	4. Setting a Trap

_There has to be away to kill that girl…_

The sandy haired man frowned. He was staring at the wall above his door, thinking.

_The problem is we don't know her patterns, how she fights…If we knew that she would be easier to get rid of…_

The man pressed a button on the desk. A few minutes later the boy who had brought in the file walked in.

"Y-yes sir?"

"Contact Darrel and tell him to come here immediately, and I want no delays."

"R-right away, sir." The boy said, quickly leaving.

A few minutes later, a man burst into the room, out of breath.

The man was tall, about six foot two, and extremely well-muscled. His hair was short and dark, with flecks of gray. His eyes were brown, and his clothes were those of a typical fighter.

"You're a minute later than you should be, Darrel." The sandy haired man said, not looking at the pepper haired man.

"S-so sorry, sir, I was-"

"I don't care what you were doing, Darrel." The man interrupted, wheeling on the brown eyed man.

Despite his clear height and weight advantage, Darrel was clearly afraid of the dark suited man.

The sandy haired boss sat down in his chair. "I'll cut to the chase. I need several of your fighters to go and confront the girl. At most five. Don't pick anyone you'll miss, as none are likely to return."

Darrel paused. "Boss, are… are you sending them on a suicide mission?"

"Most likely. This girl has proven herself extremely hard to kill. We need to know her fighting capabilities and style. Which means your people need to fight her while others watch and record."

Darrel hesitated. "Sir, couldn't we just send another skilled fighter?"

"We've tried that ten times already, and each ended up dead. We can't keep doing the same thing, she needs to die." The sandy haired man crossed his arms. "Are you going to defy me?"

"N-no sir! I would never-"

"Then go. Pick the five people going on the mission."

"R-right away sir." Darrel left quickly.

The icy eyed man remained sitting for a few minutes, before pressing the button again.

"Tell Rodric I need to see him." He said when the boy entered. The boy nodded, exiting quickly.

A few minutes later, a boy who didn't look older than eighteen entered. His hair was black, and gelled back. A pair of black sunglasses covered his eyes, which he removed, revealing a pair of black eyes. A black trench coat and a pair of black jeans with a pair of black combat boots were the only visible pieces of clothing.

"You called, sir?" Rodric smirked, giving a slight bow. He did not seem as afraid of the icy eyed man as Darrel.

"Yes," The boss responded folding his hands on his desk. "I need several of your better spies, who are able to analyze a person's battle style, and stay out of notice."

"Let me guess: the girl?" Rodric asked, leaning back against the door, still smirking.

The sandy haired man didn't react, causing the black hair boy to chuckle.

"I'll take care of it sir." Rodric said, no longer leaning against the door.

"Good." The black suited man said, waving his hand, dismissing the smirking boy.

Silence filled the room once more.

_Once the girl is gone, I can begin working towards my true goal…_


	5. A New Companion

_If I reach Pewter, I can find a place to sleep… I have no trainer card, and I'm not sure how much money I have… Maybe I'll just camp outside the city again._

"So, what are you heading to Pewter for?" Tony asked, breaking the silence that had followed them since Claire and him had started travelling together.

"Not much, I normally just travel to wherever I feel like." Claire responded, shrugging.

"Have you been to a lot of places?" Tony asked, looking at Claire with wide eyes.

"I guess."

"Have you ever been to Sinnoh?"

Claire paused. "No, not in a while." She responded, her voice a bit more curt.

Tony frowned. But before he could ask what was wrong, a gruff male voice called out.

"Alright, girl, time's up."

Both trainers stopped. Claire sighed.

"I just can't have a moment's rest, can I?"

Tony looked at the black haired girl in confusion. "Wha-"

Just then three men and two women dropped down from the trees. One man had a broadsword, one man and one woman had regular swords, and the last man and woman had daggers.

"Oh, look at that." The woman with the dagger taunted. "The girl made a friend."

"I didn't know that was possible." The man with the broadsword leered.

"They look kind of cute together~" The woman with the sword cooed, though clearly mocking.

"Too bad none are allowed to survive." The dagger wielding man growled.

"Uh-huh." The man with the sword agreed.

"None of you, at least." Claire responded, her face neutral.

"Claire what's going o-" Tony began to ask, only to be interrupted by Claire grabbing him and moving him to the side, narrowly avoiding the woman's thrown dagger.

"I'll explain later." Claire said, quickly dropping them both down to avoid an attempted beheading from the man with the broadsword.

Just as both of the stood up, Claire pushed Tony forward and stepped back to avoid the woman with the sword's a stab attack.

Claire grabbed the woman's wrist, twisting her hand, forcing the woman to drop the weapon.

The orange eyed girl grabbed the weapon as it fell, before stabbing the woman in the gut, causing the woman to collapse.

"You… You killed her!" The man with the dagger screamed, rushing forward in a blind rage.

Claire shoved Tony out of the way again, dodging herself. Claire used the time she had just gained to summon her sword and change outfits. When the dagger wielding man charged again, she deflected his blade, and slashed him across the chest, making him collapse as well.

Quickly turning, Claire blocked a downward swing from the man with the broadsword, her hand pressed against the flat side of her blade, locking them in a standstill.

They remained like that for a few seconds, glaring at each other. Then the man smirked. "Game over, girlie."

Claire glanced out of the corner of her eye to the left. The woman had retrieved her dagger, and was now holding it against Tony's throat.

Glancing to her right, Claire saw that the man with the sword was poised, ready to strike should she move.

Looking back up at the man whose sword was locked with hers, Claire smirked. "You'd think that."

Claire quickly took a step back, sliding her sword along the man's blade til it reached the tip, causing the broadsword to swing harmlessly into the ground between Claire's feet.

Claire kicked the now kneeling man in the face, while turning to her left and flinging out her left hand, releasing a fireball from her palm at the woman's face.

The woman screamed, dropping the dagger and releasing Tony. She began to try to fruitlessly to bat out the flames that appeared on her clothes and hair, but instead the fire continued to spread until it engulfed her.

Claire wheeled on the man with the sword, knocking his blade out of his hand before he could react, and stabbing him in the gut.

The man with the broadsword watched in horror, now the only one still alive.

"You…" The man stood up, clutching his broadsword. "You… little…"

He looked over at Tony, pure hatred in his eyes.

"Let's see how you like it!" He roared, dashing towards Tony, sword prepared to strike.

Claire raced after him. She jumped into the air, and plunged her sword into his neck just as he was about to strike.

The black haired girl jumped off the man as he collapsed to his knees and then to his side.

"They'll never learn, will they?" Claire wondered aloud, transforming back to her old outfit and turning her sword back to light.

Claire looked up at Tony, who was staring at her with wide eyes.

"You-you just- you just killed them…" He muttered.

"Well, yeah. It was necessary. It was us or them." Claire responded.

Tony blinked. _She's so calm about this…_

Before either of them could say anything, Claire jerked her head to some trees nearby.

_I heard a sound…_

Claire stooped down scooping up the dagger the woman had dropped and throwing it at the sound.

There was a thunk as the dagger hit, and a thud as a person fell from the tree, the dagger between their shoulder blades.

Claire rushed over to the person. In their right hand was a notebook. Picking up the notebook, Claire began to read what was written inside.

It was an analysis of every move she had made during the fight.

Claire stood up, scanning the surrounding trees. She heard a few more rustling sounds, but she knew there was no point in throwing any more daggers.

"Dammit, they were watching us…"

"Th-they?" Tony asked.

Claire sighed. "Looks like I'm going to have to keep you with me."

"W-wait, don't I get a say in this? I'm not exactly inclined to stay around a person who just killed six people!" Tony voice became a little high pitched.

Claire eyed him. "Of course you have choice. Though, now that they've seen you with me, they're going to think you know something about me, which means they'll want to find out. And they aren't exactly the nicest people in the world."

Claire turned and started walking away. "Your choice. Though, if I wanted you dead, you wouldn't still be breathing."

Tony hesitated, before shouting. "Wait up!" And running to catch up with Claire.

Claire didn't slow down, and just continued on her way to Pewter.

_I hope I didn't just make a huge mistake…_


	6. Interesting Information

"Sir? Rodric said he wishes to see yo-"

"Bring him in." The sandy haired man replied, not looking up from some papers on his desk.

The young man nodded, exiting the room. The icy eyed man continued to stare at the papers for a few moments before stacking them up and putting them away in a drawer, which he had just shut when Rodric entered, carrying four notebooks under his arm.

"The mission went off as planned?" The tan skinned man asked.

Rodric nodded, taking off his sunglasses. "Well, mostly."

"Mostly?" The man questioned, crossing his arms though his expression remained cold.

"One of the spies slipped up and the girl heard him. As he tried to get away, she threw a dagger from one of her attackers at him. He didn't survive. She also took his notes on the fight, so she figured out we were watching her." Rodric explained.

"So, because you failed to train one of your people correctly, we lost possibly vital information." The man's voice was the same as always, but the accusation was clear.

Rodric winced slightly. "Even the most well trained spies may slip up when then moment comes. It won't happen again."

"I trust it won't."

Rodric swallowed. "In any case, here is the information we gathered." He placed the four notebooks on his boss's desk.

The icy eyed man nodded, waving his hand, dismissing the black haired boy.

"One more thing sir," Rodric said. "The girl has a new companion. A human boy."

The man looked up. "She's travelling with a human?"

Rodric nodded. "She seemed intent on protecting him. He never helped her fight though." The black eyed boy crossed his arms. "We're looking into him, but so far he doesn't seem to have any connections to her."

The man nodded, waving his hand. Rofric turned and left.

As he was walking from the bosses office, Rodric ran into Darrel, causing the black haired boy almost fall.

"Oh, sorry Roddy!" The big man exclaimed, catching the boy before he fell.

Rodric sighed at the man's antics. "It's alright, Darrel." Rodric looked up at the man. "Why are you in such a hurry? Did the boss call for you?"

Darrel stared at the ground. "No… I-I just-"

"You wanted to find out what happened on the mission?"

The big man shook his head. "No… I knew what was going to happen when I sent them out…" The pepper haired man looked at the ground, his guilt clear in his voice. "I-I was just ging to ask the boss if I could-"

Rodric held up a hand. "I already had some people go and retrieve the bodies and have them prepared for burial."

Darrel looked back at the black clothed boy, his eyes a little misty from unshed tears. "You… you did?"

The boy nodded. "It would be bad to leave them there for some random kid on a journey to discover." He reached up and patted the big man on shoulder. "Plus, I thought you'd want to give them a proper burial."

The brown eyed man nodded, smiling sadly. "Thank you, Roddy."

Rodric smirked. "No problem, big guy."

Meanwhile, their boss hadn't moved an inch.

_A human boy…_ He wondered. _She's travelling with a human boy…_

He folded his fingers together and pressed the tip of his pointer finger to his lips.

_This has gotten very interesting…_


	7. Explanations

It didn't take long for Claire and Tony to arrive at Pewter. Claire was walking normally, her expression normal. Today wasn't any different from another for her.

Tony, however was a different story. Today had been as far from normal as possible. He had almost gotten mugged, then got rescued by Claire, then got attacked by a group of people with weapons that Claire seemed to know, then almost got _murdered_ by those people, but instead Claire killed them. And now, apparently, they knew who he was and were going to do some…_ unpleasant _things if they got their hands on him.

"So," Claire said just as they walked into the city, jolting Tony out of his thoughts. "I have no money, and I'll bet you don't have any either, since you're clearly a new trainer. So a hotel's out. Which means we'll probably end up sleeping just outside the city."

Tony frowned. "Why don't we get a room in the Pokemon Center?"

Claire frowned. "That doesn't require money?"

The brown haired boy gave Claire an odd look. "No. As long as you have a trainer card, you get healing, food, and rooms for free."

"I don't have a trainer card." Claire said.

Tony blinked. "You don't?"

Claire shook her head. "I have no desire to put any of my information anywhere _they_ might be able to find it."

Tony opened his mouth to ask about who, exactly, "they" were, but instead decided to save it. "I have one. I could use it to get us a room."

Claire raised an eyebrow. "That would work?"

"Yeah, they don't really look at everyone's trainer cards, just one person's. They'll just assume that since I have one, you have one." Tony explained.

"Well…" Claire muttered. "It's worth a shot…"

A few minutes later, they entered the room they were going to share. It was either share a room, or take two on different floors. Before Claire could agree to the separate rooms, Tony had said that they'd rather share to one room.

Claire had giving Tony an odd look out of the corner of her eye, but assumed he knew what he was doing.

"Well?" Tony said, closing the door behind them.

"Are you expecting me to decide the sleeping arrangements? You're the one who insisted on us sharing a room." Claire stated, not making eye contact, instead looking around the room.

Tony sighed. "No, not about the sleeping arrangements." He looked at her. "Who were those people, how do they know you, why did they try to kill you, what is with that sword you summoned out of thin air, and how did you launch a fireball out of your hand?" He asked.

Claire paused before sighing and sitting on the bed. "You get straight to the point."

He nodded. "I want to know what I've gotten myself into."

Claire sighed again. "Those people are part of a group called Xenas. And they've been trying to kill me for years."

Tony sat down on the other bed facing Claire. "Why?"

Claire shifted. "I'm not positive, but I have a few ideas. But I get the feeling that my very existence threatens them."

Claire leaned back on her hands. "As for the sword and fireball, those are family abilities. And I don't really know much about them myself, only that I know how to use them and they're the reason neither of us are dead."

Tony nodded. "And what are you up to? Have you done anything that would really make the try to kill you? You seem like you're experienced with killing."

Claire looked him in the eye. "I don't think I'll share that information with you."

"Why?" Tony asked, annoyed. "You got me into this mess, I have a right to know what's going on!"

"You were the one that insisted on travelling with me," Claire reminded him. "Plus, on the rare chance you _are_ captured, which I don't plan on letting happen, you would be an extreme liability if you know a lot about me."

Tony sighed. "That makes sense…"

"Not to mention," Claire said. "If you are captured, I will not be going out of my way to rescue you. If I can while accomplishing something else, I might, but there is no guarantee."

Tony sat there silently, absorbing all he had just heard.

Maxwell jumped up on the bed next to Claire. _"I'm still upset we agreed to travel with them…"_

Claire rolled her eyes. "Would you stop complaining? You're the one who always told me to care for others."

_"Yeah, but I never thought you'd put it above your family duty-"_

"Would you be quiet about that? I swear, you're like a broken record…"

_"Doesn't stop me from being right."_

Claire sighed, though she was smiling.

Tony, though, was frowning. "Did you just… talk with your Ariados?"

Claire looked back up at the boy. "Yeah. I understand Pokemon."

The brunette blinked. "You can?"

Claire shifted. "Yes. It's… another family ability."

Tony nodded. "Your family has a lot of interesting abilities."

Orange eyes looked away. "Yeah…" She finally said after a few minutes. "We do…"

_"Your ability to communicate with Pokemon is most fascinating."_ Tony's Xatu said, finally speaking up. _"Many humans are able to get a rudimentary understanding of a team of Pokemon that they spend a lot of time with. However, it is extremely rare for a human to understand a Pokemon they do not know as well, or at all. Though, often there is a bit of confusion in translation, and they will hear words wrong. Did you know-"_

_"We get it."_ Maxwell muttered. _"My lady's special. Not a surprise."_

"I think we should settle down." Claire said, preventing a fight from starting. "I'm rather tired."

"It makes sense," Tony said. "You did just fight off five guys with weapons."

Clair shrugged. "I'm used to it."

They took turns taking showers, and changed into the pajamas that the Center provided in every room. They also sent their clothes down to get cleaned. The Center offered the service so trainers would always have to wear the same filthy clothes at all times. Claire was hesitant though, and didn't send her gloves, hat, or jacket down.

They both settled down, Maxwell and Claire in one bed, Tony and his Xatu in the other. Though Maxwell and the Xatu both fell asleep quickly, Claire and Tony lay awake for a while.

_How did I get myself into this mess…_ Tony wondered. _It was supposed to be a normal Pokemon journey, and now I'm travelling with a girl who can kill without hesitating only because she offers a better chance of survival…_

Tony sighed. _Not that I had any plans anyway, though…_

Claire mind was on what they're plan was. _The info from the man said to go ask any questions and receive payment at the "the usual spot" in the Kanto area… But where _is_ that?_

Claire rolled over.

_I'm not sure how much time I have left…_


	8. Secret Communication

Everything was quiet. Most of the lights were out, a few quiet murmurs could be heard as members of Xenas drifted off to sleep.

All except one.

The door to one of the girls' barracks opened, and a young girl, around seventeen years old, slipped out. Her hair was a bright blond, almost yellow, and reached just to her shoulders, and her eyes were a dark brown, almost black. Her outfit was all black, a button up shirt that was buttoned to the very top and a black pencil skirt, and a pair of flats were on her feet.

Silently shutting the door behind her, the girl crept down the hall, glancing around her. Her training as a spy really came in handy in times like these.

Reaching a door, she glanced around, before slipping inside.

The room she had slipped into was a storage closet. As she shut the door behind her, the girl reached in her pocket, pulling out a small inconspicuous device. Sticking it on the door, she pressed a button. Now no one would be able to hear what was said inside the room.

She crept behind some boxes, pulling out another, larger device. Pressing a button, the device expanded, revealing a screen and some small speakers.

The girl pressed another button on the device. "Matt. Are you there?"

There was silence, and the screen was only white. Before the girl could say anything else a voice responded, "Ellie? Yes, yes, I'm here!"

A boy appeared on the screen. He was no older than Ellie, and actually looked a bit like her. His hair was blond like hers, though darker. His eyes were a light blue, with a hint of green. He was wearing a dark blue hoodie with a pair of jeans, and a gray headset with a mike was perched on his head.

"Thank goodness you're on. I was getting worried." Matt sighed in relief.

"Sorry," Ellie apologized. "Rodric started pulling me out for late night skill polishing sessions."

Matt frowned. "Again? Why does he keep doing that? You think he suspects you?"

Ellie paused. "No, I don't think so. He would have reported me by now." Ellie shook her head. "We recently lost a fellow spy because he slipped up, and he always seemed to take to take special interest in me. He probably just doesn't want me to slip up on a mission and die."

Matt's frown deepened. Ellie was practically a sister to him, so he was against her infiltrating Xenas in the first place. Now that she was there though, he could only worry and provide a little support here and there where he could. And Ellie's superior, Rodric, really worried him.

"Anyway, I've got a bit more information." Ellie said, snapping Matt out of his day dream.

Matt nodded. "Go ahead."

"The boss has changed tactics when trying to take the girl down. He's no longer sending solo fighters or groups to confront her. He sent a suicide group to confront her and fight her, while five people under Rodric watched and analyzed her movements. They're wizening up."

Matt nodded, typing what she said. "Anything else?"

"Miss Cathrine, you know the lady the boss sends to gather information from various places and only comes back when she's found something?"

Matt nodded.

"She came back early. She was only here for a few minutes, and I don't know what she found, but it must've been important. She was in Sinnoh, if that helps."

Matt nodded, his fingers flying across the key board.

"Darrel was a little upset at the deaths of those people, but he still doesn't seem likely to rebel. Everybody fears the boss."

More typing.

"I still don't know what the boss looks like, he remains in his office."

Matt nodded, and finished typing. "Anything else?"

"One last thing, about the girl." Ellie said.

Matt paused, looking Ellie in the eye. "_The_ girl?"

Ellie nodded.

"What?"

"She has a companion. And not a Pokemon."

Matt raised an eyebrow.

"The girl is travelling with a human boy."

Matt's eyes widened. "A _human_? Are you sure?"

Ellie nodded. "I was there when the people who watched the most recent fight gave their reports."

Matt was typing furiously. "This is invaluable information. Thanks Ellie, I'll send this information along."

Ellie nodded. Hesitating, Ellie finally said. "Hey, Matt?"

"Yeah Ellie?" Matt asked, still typing.

"Why are we putting so much faith in this girl?"

Matt paused and looked up. "What do you mean?"

"This girl- what was her name, Claire? Why are we putting so much faith in her?"

Matt paused.

"I mean, she doesn't know we exist, if she saw me dressed like this," Ellie gestured towards her outfit. "She would hesitate to kill me. She doesn't even know she has people on her side. And how are we even helping her? We can't get information to her without revealing ourselves, which we can't do because then Xenas will know we exist! I know we keep being told she's our only chance, but why? Why is she our only chance?"

Matt paused. "I don't know, Ellie. But we have no choice. No one has a better plan. Plus, you've heard of her family: they're natural fighters. And from what we understand, she's more skilled than average." Matt looked Ellie in the eye. "Please, Ellie, just keep going. We have no other choice."

Ellie bit her lip. "Alright."

Matt smiled. "Thanks Ellie."

Ellie showed a small smile. "I should go. I'll try to get in contact with you again soon."

"Ok. Be careful, Ellie."

"I will." She said, bidding goodbye and closing the device.

Taking the other device off the door, Ellie slipped back out into the hall.

_All I have to do is trust them and continue…_ She thought as she slipped back into the room and into her bed.

_I just hope we aren't wrong about this girl…_


	9. One Clear Sentence

Claire tossed and turned, random words and thoughts invading her mind as she slept.

Most sentences broke off before they finished, a few started in the middle.

These dreams weren't uncommon, and they often resulted in Claire not being able to get the restful sleep she needed.

Then one sentence broke through the jumbled mess of words, clear and crisp as a fall day.

_Go to Bell Tower…_

Claire's eyes snapped open. She sat up quickly, eyes wide.

_Bell Tower…_

_"Another dream?"_

Claire looked to her side, then smiled. "You certainly are a light sleeper."

Maxwell shrugged. _"It's saved both of our lives several times."_

Claire chuckled. "Fair enough."

Maxwell shifted to a more comfortable position. _"What was it this time?"_

"Another one of those odd broken sentence dreams." Claire said, leaning back against the headboard.

Maxwell nodded. He should have figured. Claire doesn't shift around that much for any other dream.

"This time, though, I think I got one of my 'intuitions' in the middle of it." Claire said, looking out the window. The sun was just beginning to rise. It was around the time Claire would normally wake up.

Maxwell looked slightly surprised. _"What was it this time?"_

"A voice told me to go to Bell Tower."

Maxwell blinked. _"Bell Tower?"_

Claire nodded, finding the mattress very interesting.

Maxwell was silent. He knew how Claire felt about that tower.

_"So…"_

"I guess we're going to Bell Tower."

Maxwell looked up at her. _"Are you sure?"_ He asked.

"Not like we have any other leads." Claire said, getting up.

_That's true. _Maxwell thought. _That other lead she got from the man she knocked off the cliff is too cryptic to figure out._

_"Shall we wake the boy up?"_

Claire paused. "No, let's let him sleep. He got dragged into this mess and his whole world has gone crazy. Plus, he needs the sleep while he can get it. Who knows when we'll have to be moving constantly again."

Maxwell nodded. _"Fair enough."_

Claire found their newly washed clothes just outside the door. It didn't take long for her to change. Noticing that she probably had a lot more time before Tony woke up, she decided to go find something for them to eat.

She was back and sitting sitting on the window sill a few hours later, staring out at the sky, when Tony finally woke up.

"Morning." Claire greeted. "Your clothes and some food are on the coffee table. Get ready, we need to go."

"Where?" Tony asked grogily, getting out of the bed.

"Bell Tower, Johto."

Tony blinked. "Why?"

"Reasons." Claire responded, looking back out the window, making it clear she would not elaborate.

Tony sighed, heading to the bathroom to change. He supposed he just had to get used to being told to do stuff with no real reason.

When he came out, Claire was still sitting on the window sill.

"So," Tony said as he started eating. "How are we going to get to Bell Tower?"

Claire finally looked away from her window. "I honestly have no clue."

Tony looked at her, surprised. "You don't?"

Claire shook her head.

"So basically, you just decided that we should go to Bell Tower, with no real idea on how we get there?"

"Essentially."

Tony sighed.

_"Erm,"_ Tony's Xatu, named Xavier, spoke up. _"I-I can teleport."_

Claire and Maxwell both looked at the Psychic Flying type. _"You can?"_

Tony looked at the others, confused. "What?"

"Your Xatu just said he can teleport." Claire explained.

"Oh, yeah, he can." Tony said, blinking. "It's limited, though."

_"Limited how?"_ Maxwell asked.

_"Only shorter distances, and I can't do it one after another. I usually about an hour before teleporting again."_ Xavier explained.

_"Great. Like that is gonna help us."_ Maxwell muttered sourly.

Tony tapped his chin thoughtfully. "We could go to Cerulean, rest there for about an hour until Xavier can teleport us again, and then he can teleport us to Saffron, where we can take the magnet train to Goldenrod in Johto. From there, it's not a lot walk or even just a teleport to Ecruteak."

Claire raised an eyebrow. "Clever. That's not a bad plan."

Tony blushed slightly. "It's not that great." He muttered.

Claire eyed him for a few seconds before dismissing his reaction. "Shall we set out then?"

They all nodded, and walked out of the Center to the edge of Pewter.

Claire was silent during the walk.

_Bell Tower, here we come…_


	10. Some Time in the City

It took only a few seconds for Xavier to teleport them all to an area just outside Cerulean, and the walk into the city didn't take long at all.

"Huh, so this is what Cerulean looks like." Tony said, looking around. "It's nice."

"I agree, it is quite pretty." Claire said, though she isn't looking around.

Tony looked over at her. "Have you been here before?"

"I passed through here a few years ago." Claire stated.

Tony nodded. He knew by now she probably wasn't going to explain why she had been here.

"So, what should we do until Xavier can teleport again?" Tony asked.

Claire shrugged. "Whatever we wish."

Tony looked around and his eyes fell on a small shop. He looked back and forth from Claire to the store, clearly wanting to check it out.

"Go ahead. I'm not stopping you." Claire said, waving her hand.

The blue eyed boy looked at her in surprise. "But, what about-"

"Xenas won't attack you in such a populated area. You'll be fine. And if I hear a commotion, I'll come running." Claire looked off in the distance. "Let's meet at the Center in an hour. Agreed?"

Tony nodded. "Ok. See you in an hour!" And with that, he took off, Xavier following.

_"What do you want to do, my lady?"_ Maxwell asked once he was gone.

Claire shrugged, turning and walking away.

"Good day!" The young girl at the desk of the shop greeted as the light brunette walked in. "Can I help with anything?"

"Nah, I'm just looking." Tony said. "But I'll let you know if I need help."

Tony looked around. It was a trinket shop, with jewelry and stones and other items, though none really caught his eye.

Walking down an aisle, Tony scanned his blue eyes across the shelves. He paused as his eyes fell upon an item.

One was a small stone, about three quarters of an inch wide, and flat, with rough edges. The bright orange color was like that of a fire, and on the inside of the stone, a tiny flame appeared to burn.

Tony carefully picked it up, and as he did he noticed that it was flickering occasionally. He couldn't tell if it was a trick of the light or not, though.

Tony gently turned the stone in his hands. It felt slightly warm, but that might have just been Tony's imagination.

"Excuse me, miss?" Tony called out to the lady at the counter. "What's this?"

"Ah," She said, coming over to him. "That stone was brought in by someone quite a few years ago. They said they found it on the ground in the forest, but they didn't know what to do it, so they decided to sell it. Tis a beautiful stone, no?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah, it's very pretty." He looked at the stone more closely, watching the apparent flame inside flicker.

_It reminds me of Claire, for some reason…_

"If you are interested, I can add it to a piece of jewelry, like a necklace or hair clip." The lady offered. "No charge."

Tony looked over at her. "Would you have to drill a hole in it?" He asked, dubious. He didn't want to damage the stone.

"No no," She waved her hand. "I can attach it without damaging the stone. Would you like me attach it for you?"

Tony smiled. "That would be great."

"Well then, this way please." The lady walked over to the counter, and began rummaging under it. "What kind of jewelry would you like it to be?"

"Um…" Tony thought. "Hair clip."

"Hair clip…" She muttered, rummaging around under the counter for a few more seconds. "This work for you?" The lady asked, standing up, holding up a copper hair clip. It was a simple clip, not too big, but large enough to hold the stone in place. The part of the clip that attached to the hair was hidden by a decal of a burning flame, the base of which is where the stone would be attached.

Tony smiled. "That's perfect."

The lady smiled in return. "Good good. Give me just a moment."

The lady began carefully wrapping the metal around the stone in such a way as to keep the stone from falling out while showing as much as possible.

"Is this for someone special?" The lady asked as she wrapped the clip in tissue paper and put it in a box.

Tony nodded. "I'm travelling with someone who I owe a major favor to. I figured this would be a great way to thank her."

The lady smiled, handing him the box. "I'm sure she'll love it."

"I hope so." Tony said, carefully putting the box in his backpack. "Thank you very much."

"Twas not a problem. Have a good day!" The lady said, waving as Tony left.

Claire leaned against the fence, looking at the river.

She had been here for a while, her mind a mess of thoughts, and memories.

_"Thinking about Bell Tower?" _Maxwell asked, standing beside her.

Claire chuckled bitterly, shaking her head. "You know me so well."

_"I also know what that tower is to you."_

Claire was silent, her eyes once again distant, reliving some old memories.

"Seven years." She said after several minutes. "It's been seven years since I've been back there. Seven years since…" Claire's voice trailed off.

Maxwell stayed silent. He knew Claire, and he knew that trying to comfort her wouldn't help.

Claire sighed. "But we have no choice. It's the best lead we have."

Maxwell nodded. As little as he trusted Claire's intuitions, as they had gotten them both into some tight situations, he knew that Claire couldn't and wouldn't let a single lead go.

_"At least we know we'll be welcomed there."_ The poison type said.

That elicited a small half smile from Claire, along with a single chuckle. "Yeah, you're right about that."

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the city, people shouting and police telling people to remain calm.

Claire and Maxwell looked at each other. Both nodded and immediately took off towards the sound.


	11. A Small Slip Up

"Everybody, please, calm down!" A policeman shouted to the crowd that had gathered. "We are working are hardest to rescue the hostages, but for your own safety, please back up."

Claire arrived at the back of the crowd, slowing down to a jog before stopping. She looked around. The police had cleared the streets around the Cerulean Bank, and a man in a suit was talking to someone in the bank through a megaphone.

"Claire!"

The black haired girl turned towards the call, and saw Tony hurrying over to her from his place in the crowd, Xavier next to him..

"You're safe." Tony sighed with relief once he reached her. "I was worried you were being held hostage."

"What's going on?" Claire asked, her eyebrows scrunching together.

"Some guy stormed into Cerulean Bank with a gun and is holding everyone that was inside hostage." Tony explained, looking back at the bank. "The police are trying to get them out of there. But it doesn't look like they're making much progress…"

Claire looked back at the Bank. The man in the bank had gotten his hands on some sort of megaphone and was talking to the police through it.

"I don't have a point to live anymore!" He was wailing. "I just want to end my pain!"

"He's _insane…_" Tony muttered after a few minutes of listening to the back and forth between the gunman and negotiator. "But still, I kinda feel bad for him. What do you think Claire?" Tony asked, looking to his side.

Only the orange eyed girl wasn't there.

Blue eyes began scanning the croud, looking for signs of the black haired girl. "Claire?" He called, hoping she would respond.

She didn't.

Tony looked down, noticing that Maxwell was still standing there, watching the Bank.

"Maxwell," Tony said, getting the poison types attention. "Where's Claire?"

Maxwell also looked around, just noticing that his lady wasn't there.

_"Oh for the love of-"_ Maxwell muttered.

"I don't want to live like this anymo- huh? Wha-"

The man's voice suddenly cut off, and there were sound of fighting, and a gun being fired. The police didn't hesitate drawing their weapons and rushing forward into the building.

Claire carefully removed the pane of glass from the skylight and dropped down into the office, only making a small sound as she landed on the wooden desk.

Slowly and silently, she crept from the office into the main area, moving as silently as possible.

A few of the hostages looked at her in surprise as she entered the main area of the bank. Their hands were tied but only a few had their mouths gagged.

Claire silently pressed a finger to her lips. They all nodded, but continued to watch her as she grabbed some of the man's left over rope and began to sneak up behind him.

The man was standing with his back to the hostages and the girl who had snuck in. In his left hand was a megaphone, into which he shouted his nonsense. In his right, he held a hand gun, though his grip was lose and his arm was dangling at his side

Claire's steps were practically silent, slowly approaching the man. Keeping her steps silent was greatly more difficult on the tile floor, so that's where most of her attention was focused, though she kept her eyes on the man's back, just in case he turned.

_Just one good kick to the back of his head, right in the precise spot, and he'll be out like a light._

"I don't want to live like this anymo-"

_Just a little farther…_ Claire was now about a foot from the man.

_Snap_

Claire cursed herself for failing to pay attention to the floor. She was too focused on the man, and didn't notice the discarded pen cap on the ground. But there was no time to get mad at herself.

The man turned around, gun still by his side. "Huh? Wha-"

Claire didn't give him a chance to react. Quickly raising her right leg, she kneed him in the gut, causing the man to double over in pain.

The man gasped from the sudden blow, but quickly began to straighten up to try to point the gun at the black haired girl.

Just before he could do so, Claire grabbed his wrist, pointing it away from both of them and up. The gun fired, the bullet lodging itself harmlessly in the ceiling.

Claire twisted the man's arm behind him, causing him to cry out in pain and drop the gun. Kicking him in the back of his knees, causing him to collapse to his knees, Claire delivered a quick kick to the back of his head, knocking him out just as the police entered.

"Good, you're here." Claire said, her face as neutral as ever, despite the police's guns pointing at her, as she was the one standing. They lowered them once they realized that the one standing was a teenage girl instead of a crazed gunman.

Before any of the ploiceman could say a thing though, there was an angry shout from behind the officers. Several of them were shoved aside as an extremely pissed Ariados entered.

_"Exactly _what_ were you thinking?!"_ Maxwell shouted, almost shaking with anger as Tony and Xavier pushed their way in behind him.

_"What if you had gotten shot, huh? What would have happens to your mission if you had gotten hurt?!"_

Claire crossed her arms, looking at the arachnid. "I didn't get hurt, and I knew I wouldn't. Besides, who knows what he would have done to those people." Claire jerked her thumb towards the people behind her, who some of the police were beginning to untie.

Maxwell trembled for a few minutes, trying to control his anger, before finally sighing.

_"What am I going to do with you?"_

The policed asked Claire a few questions about what happened before letting her go. They seemed surprised that a teenage girl could take down a man with a gun so easily, but without any other explanations, they had no choice but to accept her story as true.

"We should probably head to Saffron now, before word of that incident spreads." Claire said, walking towards the edge of the city, Maxwell, who was still muttering in anger, beside her, and Tony and Exavier following behind.

Tony paused in surprise, though he kept walking. "You're awfully calm for just having rescued a bunch of people from an insane gunman with nothing to lose." He said, jogging to walk next to the black hair female.

She simply shrugged. "Honestly, I messed up severely on that. I failed to pay attention to my surroundings and thus alerted him to my position before I wished him to know. Though he was still little of a threat for he clearly barely knew how to use a gun." Claire stated, continuing to walk as though taking down gunmen was an everyday thing.

Tony was silent. _She's so… casual about this. _He thought as they neared the edge of the city to continue on their trek.

_Though, she clearly has been through worse…_


	12. A Gift From a Friend

The trip to Saffron was quick, mostly because they once again used Xavier teleportation abilities.

Claire and the others headed straight to the Magnet Train, purchased their tickets (Tony had a little more left over money), and waited in the lobby for the train to arrive.

"So," Tony said, after they found a couple seats. "We might as well get to know each other, since we're probably going to be travelling together for a while. So, why don't you tell me a little more about you?" Tony smiled kindly.

But he received no response. Claire was staring at the ceiling, her mind lost in thoughts.

Tony's smile disappeared. "Claire?"

No reaction.

"Hello?"

Claire still didn't respond.

The light brunette sighed, deciding to give up, and staring off into the distance as well.

Just like his trainer, the psychic and flying type was trying to strike up a conversation.

_"So…"_ Xavier said, looking over at the poison type, who had settled down near Claire's feet, and shut his eyes. _"Have you known Claire for long?"_

_"Years."_

Xavier nodded. _"That's cool. Tony and I have only known each other for about a year, but we're really close."_

_"That's nice."_

Xavier sat down next to Maxwell. _"I've always wondered what it's like to travel…"_ The Xatu mused.

_"Well, I'm sure it would be more enjoyable if people weren't trying to kill my lady at every opportunity." _Maxwell replied curtly.

Xavier blinked. _"Oh, yeah… I guess that would make easier to enjoy…"_

Maxwell sighed. _"Ok, what do you want?"_

Xavier looked over at the Ariados and blinked. _"N-nothing! I just wanted to get to know you better…"_

Maxwell opened one eye. _Is he serious? "Why?"_

_"W-well, I figured that sense we'll be travelling together for a while, we might as well get to know each other…"_

This gave Maxwell some pause. _This… is weird. No body besides Claire has ever tried to find out more about me. Though, granted, I've only really met a few people besides Claire…_

_"Alright, what do you want to know? Though I maintain my right to refuse to answer questions."_

Xavier perked up. _"Oh, really? Well then… Um…"_ He paused thinking.

Maxwell chuckled. _"How about I ask you a question?"_

Xavier looked back at him and blinked. He got a mischievous glint in his eye. _"Of course, but didn't you just ask me one?"_

Maxwell chuckled. _"Not bad."_

Xavier smiled. _"Thanks. Now go ahead."_

The two Pokemon chatted for a while, sharing a few laughs until the call for their train went out.

Finally snapping out of her thoughts, Claire stood up. "That didn't take that long." She remarked as she headed towards the train.

"Says the girl who stared off into space for the last forty-five minutes…" Tony muttered as they entered the train and found some seats facing each other.

The train started out, and Claire looked out the window. "Approximately how long will it take for us to reach Goldenrod?" She asked, looking back at Tony.

Tony looked over at one of the clocks on the wall. "It's about one… so we should be there by four, at the latest."

Claire sighed. "I suppose we have no choice but to wait."

"Could you do me favor, though?" Tony asked, smiling slightly.

Claire looked slightly confused. "What?"

"Don't zone out on me. It was bad enough waiting for forty-five minutes without someone to talk to."

Claire only offered a half smile before looking back out the window. "I've just been… thinking."

"About what?" Tony asked.

Claire looked back at the blue eyed boy. But before she could respond, he waved his hand.

"Wait, stupid question," He said shaking his head. "You don't talk about yourself. Never mind."

Claire looked down at the floor. _I suppose it wouldn't hurt…_

A sigh was released as the girl's orange eyes closed. "My family used to go to Bell Tower a lot when I was younger."

Tony looked at Claire quickly in surprise. Was Claire was _actually_ telling him a little about herself?

"In fact, we lived there for a while. The people of the tower were kind enough to let us stay there for a few years.

"I have a lot of memories around that tower. Happy ones, with my family. It was probably one of the happiest times of my life.

"Then… Something horrible happened. And everything about the tower reminded me and my parents about it. We just couldn't stay there any longer.

"So we left. Packed our thing and moved to a secluded area far away from others."

Claire sighed again. "That was around eight years ago. I haven't been to back there in all that time."

Tony blinked. _Claire just told me something about herself…_ He thought in shock.

Claire drew her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, bringing her knees to her chest. "I'm both excited to be going back and dreading seeing things that will remind me of… that event."

Tony was silent for a few minutes. Then he stood up.

Claire looked up as he walked over, sat next to her, and gave her a hug.

Orange eyes widening, she opened her mouth as if to say something, though no sound came out.

"I can't say I know how you feel. And I can't really offer much in the way of comfort. But even though you only agreed to let me travel with you to keep me from being captured by Xenas, we're still travelling partners. And that means if you ever have anything on your mind, as long as it isn't a threat to you, I'm here to listen."

Claire blinked. _He's… hugging me… I haven't been hugged in… forever…_

Claire leaned into the hug, and showed Tony a small smile. "Thank you."

Maxwell smiled from his position a few feet away. _It's nice to see Lady Claire opening up a little, even though I know it won't last for long. Though maybe one day here barriers will fall_

A few hours later, the magnet train pulled into the station in Goldenrod.

Claire stepped off the train, back to her old self, Tony and the others behind her.

"Well, let's get going." Claire said, beginning to walk towards the edge of the city.

"Hey, wait." Tony called out, stopping her.

Claire turned around. "Yes?"

"It's already four, and you've had a pretty big day, whether you think so or not. Why don't we get a room at the Center for the night and go to Ecruteak first thing in the morning?" Tony suggested.

Claire crossed her arms, thinking. _That's a valid enough point. I doubt I'll be able to accomplish all that I wish to in the time left in the day…_

Claire looked back at Tony and nodded. "Very well. Let's go the Center then."

It only took a few minutes to get to the Center and get a room. They were both going to share a room again.

They took turns showering and getting ready for bed, once again sending their clothes to be washed.

Both relaxed on their separate beds, Claire staring off into space, mentally reviewing her battle techniques, and Tony randomly flipping through channels.

Suddenly Tony's eyes widened and he snapped his fingers, catching Claire's attention. "Oh! I almost forgot!"

Tony got up from the bed and began rummaging around in his backpack while Claire watched his actions with mild curiosity.

"Aha!" Tony cried, pulling out a box. He walked over and handed it to Claire, who was now sitting on the edge of her bed. "Here." He said, handing it to her.

Claire raised an eyebrow at him before opening the box. Picking up the item inside, her eyes widened.

_Is that-_

"I found the stone at a shop in Cerulean, and it reminded me of you. So I got it and had the lady turn it into a hair clip so you could wear it." Tony explained, smiling now.

Claire didn't respond and just blinked at the stone.

"Here, I'll put it in for you." Tony said, interpreting Claire's silence as one of joy. He picked up the clip and fastened it into her hair, so it held part of her bangs back.

Tony grinned. "It looks great on you, almost like you were destined to wear it."

Claire forced a smile, though it looked natural to Tony's untrained eye. "Thank you, Tony."

"No problem," He replied, still smiling. Then he reached his arms above his head and stretched, yawning. "I think I'm going to go to bed now. Night Claire."

"Good night," she replied Shifting back to rest against the head board, as Tony climbed into his bed and fell asleep.

Claire remained still for a few more minutes, Maxwell already asleep next to her, before getting up and walking to the bathroom.

Flicking on the light, Claire stared at the mirror, her eyes on the clip in her hair.

Her hand reached up, almost touching the stone, before she shook her head and let her hand fall back down.

_No… It's impossible._ She thought, turning the light back off and walking back to her bed.

_There's no way it could be _that_ stone._

She climbed in, falling asleep quickly, not removing the flickering stone clip from her hair.


End file.
